Broncos Get Franchise’s First Win Over Ravens in Baltimore

Denver earned the its first win against the Ravens in Baltimore with a 34-17 victory in Week 15.

BALTIMORE –Entering the team’s Week 15 matchup, the Broncos had never won a game against the Ravens in Baltimore.

That changed on Sunday.

“(Owner and CEO) Pat Bowlen has owned the team for 29 years and has averaged 10 wins a season over that 29-year period,” Head Coach John Fox said. “But it’s the first time he’s won in this building. I was proud to see that for him.”

After the game, Fox presented the owner with the game ball in the locker room.

It was not just the Broncos that have had trouble beating the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in recent years.

Since John Harbaugh was hired as the team’s head coach and subsequently drafted quarterback Joe Flacco in 2008, 32 of the last 38 teams to visit Baltimore left with losses.

Defensive tackle Justin Bannan played 32 games for the Ravens during two of those seasons – 2008 and ’09, and knows how hard it is for opposing teams to win in Baltimore.

“To be able to come here and get a win like this against the Baltimore Ravens just doesn’t happen,” said defensive tackle Justin Bannan. “I’m very proud of our team, the resilience we showed and the week of preparation we put in and how we worked this last week. To come in here and get this win, it’s big.”

On Denver’s current nine-game winning streak, six victories have come on the road. The Broncos have won those six games by an average of 12.4 points and all have been decided by eight points or more.

“It’s tough to go on the road and win,” said cornerback Champ Bailey, who is tied as the longest-tenured Bronco. “Especially here. We’ve shown that in the past because we haven’t done it. It says a lot about where our mindset is and where we’re going.”

Despite being aware of the franchise’s record at Baltimore entering the contest, Bailey said the team did not use that as a motivating factor.

Denver had not played in Baltimore since the 2010 season, and Sunday’s roster included several new players, including a quarterback who has now won nine games in a row against the Ravens.

“It is what it is,” Bailey said. “I’m glad we won up here. I didn’t put too much emphasis on ‘we’ve never won here.’ So what? We’ve got a quarterback that’s beat them several times and a lot of guys that are here weren’t here. It’s a new team and we’re going in a new direction.”

With the road portion of the Broncos 2012 regular-season schedule complete, the Broncos finished the year 6-2 away from Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Now, the team will look to close out the season by protecting its home turf, where Denver owns the NFL’s best home winning percentage since 1975 with a 225-87 overall record.

“This is a good place to come in and get a road win in Baltimore,” Manning said. “We have Cleveland next week. It’s a home game and it’d be nice to keep our home winning streak alive.”